Orthopedic pillows and pillow stiffeners have been used for many years for relieving different sleep disorders. While the benefits of a pillow stiffener in particular, are readily apparent when one of these stiffeners is used, the sleeping comfort is generally lost when the pillow stiffener is inadvertently displaced from a preferred region of the pillow, during one's sleep for example.
Although a pillow has a simple shape, every person uses it differently. Some prefer a thin region of the pillow, some prefer a thick portion, and others sleep on the long side of it. For that reason, when a pillow stiffener is used inside a common pillow having a common pillow case, it is important that this stiffener can be mounted in various ways relative to the pillow, and that it remains as mounted through the night.
It has been found that the stabilizing of a pillow stiffener inside a common pillow found in hotel rooms for example, has been generally overlooked in the past. In that regard, examples of orthopedic pillows and pillow stiffeners found in the prior art are shown in the following documents:    U.S. Pat. No. 655,087 issued to P. Jones on Jul. 31, 1900, discloses a pillow having an inflatable chamber integrated therein. The inflatable chamber is held inside the pillow by a sewn fabric partition.    U.S. Pat. No. 3,411,164 issued to S. Sumergrade on Nov. 19, 1968, discloses another type of pillow with an inflatable chamber permanently incorporated in a central portion thereof.    U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,513 issued to G. R. Rinz on Jul. 5, 1988, discloses a pillow case having a pocket formed along an edge thereof. A resilient insert is mounted in that pocket and is used to support the neck of the user. The modified pillow case can be used with a conventional pillow.    U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,248 issued to D. O'Sullivan on Sep. 6, 1988, discloses a pillow which is made of two compartments each covering the entire surface of the pillow. The upper compartment contains soft filler material and the lower compartment contains a neck support member. The neck support member has the shape of a cylindrical roll and is made of a firm but resilient material. This roll is positioned anywhere and in any orientation in the lower compartment of the pillow to accommodate the preferences of the user.    U.S. Pat. No. 6,490,743 issued to R. Adat et al. on Dec. 10, 2002, discloses a pillow case having a pair of neck support rolls affixed to the inside surface of the cover along opposite edges inside the cover. The modified pillow case can be used with a conventional pillow.
Although the modified pillows and pillow cases of the prior art deserve undeniable merits, the prior art fails to disclose or to suggest a pillow stiffener than can be inserted in a flat mode inside a common pillow, properly positioned and inflated to a desired size and stiffness. The prior art also fails to suggest a pillow insert that has retainers thereon to hold the insert during use in a proper position relative to a pillow.
As such, it is believed that there is a need in this field for a pillow stiffener that can be stowed in a flat or rolled-up shape inside one's luggage and easily mountable and effectively held in place inside a common pillow case.